The Philippines' Office of the Solicitor General has filed a strongly-worded brief opposing Senator Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa's attempt to block government cooperation with the International Criminal Court, marking a rare moment when Manila's legal apparatus appears willing to engage with international accountability mechanisms.
The OSG asked the Supreme Court to deny Dela Rosa's petition for a temporary restraining order, arguing in its comment that "to create new protections for one who long stood protected from accountability is to deepen the wounds already borne by those left behind."
Dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police during President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war that killed thousands, faces an ICC warrant related to alleged crimes against humanity. The senator has sought court intervention to prevent Philippine authorities from cooperating with the Hague-based court.
The OSG's position represents a significant shift from the Duterte administration's blanket rejection of the ICC's jurisdiction. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s government has maintained studied ambiguity on the issue, neither explicitly endorsing nor blocking ICC cooperation.
"To once more extend exceptional privileges to a petitioner who now seeks refuge in rights he may have denied to others undermines the very foundation of justice," Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra wrote in the filing.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2021 for crimes allegedly committed during the anti-drug campaign that began in 2016. Human rights groups estimate between 12,000 and 30,000 people were killed, though the government disputes these figures.
Legal experts note the case tests Philippines' relationship with international law after Duterte withdrew the country from the ICC in 2019. The court maintains it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed while was still a member state.
